Partner Notification – what does it mean?

posted by: Susan Mills

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are very common and not all have obvious symptoms, but left untreated they could affect your health and the health of your sexual partners.

To help prevent the spread of infections, many sexual health clinics offer Partner Notification where, if you test positive for an infection, they can help you to inform your sexual partners.

You may choose to tell your partners yourself, or you may ask us to help you.

We can notify your sexual partners on your behalf, about the risk of infection. This is called ‘Provider Referral’ and is done confidentially, so we will not mention your name, location, or when the sex took place. Provider Referrals are useful if there was a difficult break up for example.

Notifying partners about an infection can feel daunting, but it also shows care and respect for the other person.  In the majority of cases, sexual partners are grateful to have been informed, it will prompt them to have a check-up, and get treatment if it is indicated.

Many infections have no symptoms and can be passed unknowingly, especially if you’re not using protection such as a condom. The only way to know for sure if you have an infection is to test. STI testing is simple and extremely accessible with many options now available see our testing section for more information

These videos will help understand more about Partner Notification: